ArticlePLoS computational biology2023
Selective control of synaptic plasticity in heterogeneous networks through transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of tACS in older adults with cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Pooled it
- Transcranial alternating current stimulation for schizophrenia: a systematic review of randomized controlled studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- A new perspective for evaluating the efficacy of tACS and tDCS in improving executive functions: A combined tES and fNIRS study.Human brain mapping · 2024Trial
- Synaptic-state-dependent plasticity routes learning signals in recurrent circuits.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- From Therapeutic Heterogeneity to Precision Neuromodulation: Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Chronic Insomnia.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Review
- Amplifying post-stimulation oscillatory dynamics by engaging synaptic plasticity with transcranial alternating current stimulation.Frontiers in network physiology · 2025Article
- Neuroplastic effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS): from mechanisms to clinical trials.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Review
- Morphological variability may limit single-cell specificity to electric field stimulation.Frontiers in synaptic neuroscience · 2025Article
- High-intensity transcranial alternating current stimulation combined with pharmacotherapy for adolescent major depressive disorder: a prospective case report study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- A Comprehensive Overview of the Current Status and Advancements in Various Treatment Strategies against Epilepsy.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2024Review
- Coordinated reset stimulation of plastic neural networks with spatially dependent synaptic connections.Frontiers in network physiology · 2024Article
- Brain Response to Interferential Current Compared with Alternating Current Stimulation.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Transcranial alternating current stimulation can disrupt or reestablish neural entrainment in parkinsonian motor cortex.Brain stimulationArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) represents a promising non-invasive treatment for an increasingly wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. The ability to use periodically oscillating electric fields to non-invasively engage neural dynamics opens up the possibility of recruiting synaptic plasticity and to modulate brain function. However, despite consistent reports about tACS clinical effectiveness, strong state-dependence combined with the ubiquitous heterogeneity of cortical networks collectively results in high outcome variability. Introducing variations in intrinsic neuronal timescales, we explored how such heterogeneity influences stimulation-induced change in synaptic connectivity. We examined how spike timing dependent plasticity, at the level of cells, intra- and inter-laminar cortical networks, can be selectively and preferentially engaged by periodic stimulation. Using leaky integrate-and-fire neuron models, we analyzed cortical circuits comprised of multiple cell-types, alongside superficial multi-layered networks expressing distinct layer-specific timescales. Our results show that mismatch in neuronal timescales within and/or between cells-and the resulting variability in excitability, temporal integration properties and frequency tuning-enables selective and directional control on synaptic connectivity by tACS. Our work provides new vistas on how to recruit neural heterogeneity to guide brain plasticity using non-invasive stimulation paradigms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.